Life Giver

It didn't take very long for Casmir to retell his encounter with the cloaked figures, explaining the details of their appearance and their conversation about 'cleaning up' the main camp.

It was only when Casmir explained how he was able to avoid detection, using his newly found Soul Energy, and then take the opportunity to scan the cloaked figures Qi energy signatures that Guardian Ellaris's expression changed, albeit only slightly.

The Guardian was an expert Qi Grade 7 cultivator, experienced with all matter of strange cultivation techniques and anomalies, but a mere Peak Qi Grade 1 cultivator from a relatively common race showing such talent with Soul Energy was quite exciting, even for him.

Naturally he was aware of the implications of such a talent and agreed to keep knowledge of Casmir's abilities a secret, but Guardian Ellaris couldn't help but question Casmir for a moment about his experience with Soul energy. Curious if there was any details that could further his own understanding of Soul Energy.

Casmir was open about his experience, with the exception of the Life Giver Orb of course, yet unfortunately Guardian Ellaris seemed unable to gleam any insights from Casmir's relatively normal -but rapidly accelerated- process of obtaining Soul Energy.

"Strange.." Guardian Ellaris said as he looked blankly towards an empty area of the tent, deep in thought regarding Casmir's situation.

Casmir was stood in front of the Guardian, unable to stop himself from fidgeting as he anxiously waited for the Guardian to comment on his situation. He was especially keen to understand more about his Soul Flame, or Soul Energy as Instructor Redfire and the Guardian referred to it.

Instructor Redfire hadn't given Casmir any information regarding it and Casmir could tell from how the Guardian questioned him, that he was very familiar with the concept.

Unfortunately the Guardian was oblivious to Casmir's eagerness, he calmly tapped his finger against the arm of his chair producing only the lightest of sounds as he quietly pondered Casmir's situation.

Eventually Casmir couldn't hold his curiosity back any further, directly asking the Guardian in a eager and yet cautious voice.

"What exactly is Soul Energy?"

Yet before the Guardian could reply Redfire quickly spoke up, worried about wasting the Guardians time.

"Don't worry about that, my sister will explain it to you when we get back."

The Guardian however was much more laid back than Redfire had believed, chuckling before he spoke up.

"Haha, don't worry Agent Redfire. I can spare a moment of my time in exchanged for Casmir's guidance in identifying the cloaked figures Qi signatures." He said softly, looking at Casmir for his agreement.

Casmir looked at the Guardians oddly beautiful face, quickly nodding back before he waited for the Guardian to speak.

The Guardian leaned back in his chair as a small smile appeared on his face.

"Soul Energy is strange.. It is both a form of energy that can be manipulated like Qi energy and an integral part of any lifeforms body. It can be found in the smallest of creatures and of course the largest, yet it is not balanced by the size of ones body or any other factor that can easily be measured.." The Guardian explained slowly as if still questioning his own understanding of Soul Energy.

"From my experience Soul Energy is derived from ones perseverance, inner strength and Will. Soul Energy is fostered in the intelligent races by pushing the Will to its limits, at first you will experience a greater control over the body in the form of the Will Resonance State but later it evolves into...."

Suddenly the Guardian paused, thinking deeply for a moment.

".. perhaps the best way to describe it would be.. Control..? Soul Energy is a way to control the world around you, performing fantastic feats against all reason."

The Guardian then looked straight into Casmir's eyes.

"However your situation is different than normal. Although I have seen people experience similarly strange Soul Energy related events on occasion, some of which I could explain with the use of mystical treasures that can nurture the Soul, but others like yours are still a mystery to me."

"One thing I can tell you, as no doubt your Master will. Is that an untrained Soul Energy user like yourself is very dangerous, you need to respect your Soul Energy's effects on your mind as if it is a great enemy that d.e.s.i.r.es to devour you."

The Guardian then suddenly stood up, drawing the sword hanging at his waist and pointing it towards Casmir as his demeanour suddenly changed. A dark shadow slowly growing over the Guardians face as he spoke in an increasingly powerful voice.

"You felt it when you entered this tent, maybe as just a slight foreboding feeling but you felt it nevertheless. This sword contains something that could threaten you, a Soul more powerful than your own! If it wasn't under my control it would instinctively leap out to try and devour you!" The Guardian said with a hint of malice in his voice.

In response, Casmir's breathing became unsteady as his eyes narrowed and his Soul Flame started dancing erratically inside of him. The Guardian meanwhile slowly calmed his voice as the darkness covering his face slowly faded away.

"Your Soul Energy is responding naturally to my Swords, its fear is causing you to have a physical reaction and this is naturally dangerous as it means your Soul can influence your decision making. Only when you are no longer effected by such a fear can you use your Soul Energy freely.." The Guardian said as he stepped back, sheathing his Sword before he sat down calmly in his chair.

"My Sword contains my Soul, I have trained it for hundreds of years.. its Will is my own. But your soul..? I believe you have experienced the pull, the influence it can have on you." The Guardian said calmly but seriously.

Casmir nodded in response, his face covered in a thin layer of sweat from both the Guardians sudden yet faked threat and the real threat to him that the Guardian had confirmed to him.

"Remember, always stay calm.. This is your Soul, no one else's..." The Guardian said in a heavy tone.

Then suddenly the Guardian returned to his carefree tone and peaceful smile as he finished giving guidance to Casmir.

"These are simply some of my own understandings regarding your current position, your Master can fill in the more technical details of Soul Energy and its many uses." He said before falling silent, allowing Casmir to absorb and understand his guidance.

Casmir was shaken but still deep in thought, wondering how his Soul Energy could 'control' the world around him. However Casmir was much more focused on what the Guardian had said regarding the threat his Soul Energy posed to him and its influence on his mind.

Clearly the Guardian had seen other people like Casmir before, perhaps some had been given similar opportunities to Casmir's Life Giver Orb. Further more, if it was true that Soul Energy could influence or perhaps even take over one's mind, then perhaps that was the reason behind the Life Giver Orb 'consuming' his Soul Flame and trapping it inside of it.

Casmir shivered at the thought, vowing to understand everything about Soul Energy to avoid being controlled by the Life Giver Orb and by proxy the 'Old Man' from his dream who bestowed it upon him...

As Casmir was still lost in his thoughts the Guardian looked over at the short man, Grickida, prompting Grickida to nod back with a grumpy expression on his face.

During Casmir and the Guardian's conversation, Grickida had been continuing his work on the Metal Device as he listened to their conversation. Eventually he stopped, realising his previous plan to use the Metal Device was fruitless and decided to wait for the Guardian to finish talking to this new 'witness' he had found.

The Guardian, having gained Grickida's confirmation, looked back at Casmir, waking him from his thoughts as he gestured for him to approach the Metal Device.

The Guardian then quickly explained to Casmir its purpose.

"This is a very s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e Qi energy detector, it has samples of every known Qi energy type below Grade 5." He said softly.

"My friend Grickida will show you different forms of Qi energy, you just need to point to those that match your observations of the cloaked figures Qi energy signatures and we'll do the rest."

Casmir nodded, thanking the Guardian for his advice before he walked over to the Qi energy detector.

Grickida tapped on the Qi Energy Detector causing the Crystal cylinder on top of it to suddenly fill up with at least a dozen smaller orbs, each of them containing a different type of the most common forms of Qi energy, such as water, fire or earth.

"Come on kid, lets start with the basics. What was the foundational type of their Qi signatures? Then we'll move on to the more nitty gritty part." Grickida said in a rough and clearly grumpy voice.

Casmir didn't waste his words on Grickida, clearly nothing but getting this over with would lift this short mans spirits. Casmir quickly thought back to his encounter with the cloaked figures, slowly remembering the exact feeling of their Qi energy signatures...

The process of identifying Qi energy signatures was rather an odd one, it required a cultivator to try to 'feel' the Qi energy with their senses and analyse the sensations they felt to identify each unique type.

For example, examining Earth type Qi energy would produce a gritty sand like feeling in ones mouth, while Fire type Qi energy would spark a warmth inside of ones body. These two common Qi energy types were easily distinguished by the feeling they produced.

However the process becomes more complex and nuanced as you identify rarer and more obscure types of Qi energy. These types are a mixture of different basic Qi energy types like Water and Fire that have been filtered, extracted, compressed and fused together into different forms as they naturally passed through the environment and the various creatures of the world, including cultivators.

Like an expert food critic, Casmir was tasked with recognising the difference between two dishes cooked with the same ingredients in different ways. Some, like pasta and bread were obvious but others like stews often looked similar, only when you tasted or smelled it would you find slight differences in their make-up.

Making matters even more complex was the fact that every individuals Qi energy signature was a further mixture of different Qi energy types.

It was only thanks to Casmir's slowed perception of time and perfect control over his body as he used his Soul Flame, that during the short time he had to examine the cloaked figures Qi energy signatures he had managed to distinguish many of the different types of Qi energy present in them.

It took Casmir a moment but he slowly pieced together his memories and began the process of identifying a Qi energy signature.

He was aware but not familiar with the process thanks to Master Bluefire's teachings. Firstly he needed to identify the Base Qi energy present in the Qi signatures, then using that they could narrow down the potential ancillary Qi energy types, slowly matching up those Casmir could recognise.

Generally one would only need 6 Qi energy types out of roughly a dozen to identify a person, this was because of how many types existed, finding two people with 5 matching Qi energy types was like finding a needle in a haystack, not to mention 6.

"They both had strong Earth signatures.." Casmir finally said.

Grickida promptly noted that down on a Qi Chip, he then tapped the metal device causing it to retract the orbs of Qi energy on display in its cylinder and replace them with a new set.

"Good, that will make things easier. Just say next if none of the Qi energy types displayed match your observation." Grickida said with a slightly approving grunt.

Casmir nodded, sensing the various types of Qi energy currently being displayed carefully before he spoke.

"Next."

"*Tap**Tap*"

"Next."

"*Tap**Tap*"

"There, the thick red one matches for the larger of the two cloaked figures." Casmir said as he identified one Qi energy type.

"*Tap**Tap*"

"Next...."

========

For Casmir the various Qi energy types were seemingly unending and because of his inexperience in identifying Qi energy signatures the process took much longer than normal. It took Casmir and Grickida over half an hour to sift through thousands of Qi energy types, only stopping after they found 7 matches for both cloaked figures.

Casmir could recall at least 2 more Qi energy types for each cloaked figure but at this point it wasn't necessary and Casmir was clearly starting to become fatigued, prompting the Guardian to stop them.

The Guardian arranged for an officer to bring Casmir back to the medical bay to rest, while he spoke to Redfire and Grickida.

"Grickida, pack up the detector and place it on Black Hound Shuttle 2, you'll be using it to scan for those Qi energy signatures... Oh, but you won't be joining the combat like last time." The Guardian said.

Grickida was at first all smiles at the thought of being let on a mission, until the Guardian mentioned he wouldn't be fighting.

Grickida angrily slammed the Qi energy detector with his palm, causing it to react and somehow shrink into a smaller cube half his size which he proceeded to pick up with both arms before he stomped out of the tent.

The Guardian wasn't fazed by Grickida's attitude however, turning his attention to Redfire.

"Again, I'm sorry this happened to your students Redfire." The Guardian said calmly, yet sincerely. "But at least none of them were killed, we're quite lucky really."

The Guardian then paused, waiting for Redfire to speak if he wanted to but Redfire kept silent, prompting the Guardian to continue.

"Your student, Casmir, will have to testify at the council, you should bring him there but send the girl straight home. Have Bluefire meet Casmir at the council building to explain everything to him.. unless she's occupied of course."

The Guardian then looked directly at Redfire, his eyes narrowing like a hawks.

"Also, I was quite impressed by Casmir.. If he needs a place to go in the future, my unit will gladly welcome him." The Guardian said firmly, to clearly convey his genuine appreciation for Casmir.

But Redfire didn't flinch hearing the Guardian's words, replying apologetically "I'll thank you on behalf of Casmir but to be honest, I don't think my sister will let him join the military."

The Guardians eyes lingered on Redfire for a moment before shifting away as the Guardian reverted to his calm demeanour.

"Hmm.. Oh well, give Bluefire my regards when you see her. I still need her help with some weapon parts for the Dragonfly." He said with a calm smile, as if he didn't care about being rejected.

Redfire then promptly saluted the Guardian before he left the tent.

Now alone, the Guardian started thinking about his next move, he would likely be able to capture the 2 cloaked figures Casmir had helped identify but their capture would alert the enemy...

"*Ding**Ding*"

Suddenly, the Guardians badge lit up as a message passed through it using Qi energy, transmitting a packet of information directly into the Guardian's mind.

In response, he quickly stood up as a variety of emotions flashed across his face, first joy, then suspicion and finally a calm smile as if the Guardian had completely understood the situation.

He sat back down in his chair, calling all of his officers to come to his tent before he waiting for their arrival.

Within in a minute they had all arrived, standing respectfully in a manner according to their military rank.

"Non-combat officers, seal up anything we have found and then cleanse the area, we don't need anything else from here. Your priority now is brining our dead back home, the rest of us will meet you back at base." The Guardian said before waving his hand, prompting the non-combat officers to leave.

"Squad Commanders, we're dealing with cultivators up to Grade 5. Stealth equipment and arrays have been confirmed to be in their possession but be prepared for Special Forces level training and equipment. I'll be joining you but if I am occupied during battle our priority is capture, dangerous components however should be eliminated without hesitation."

"Summon your Squads and meet me at the assault shuttles in 5 minutes, combat ready."

All of the dozen or so officers quickly saluted, shouting "Yes Sir!" before leaving, their communication badges blinking on and off repeatedly as they quickly organised their subordinates.

Over the next 15 minutes the camp quickly shifted gears, all of the command personnel changed their orders as the main camp was quickly stripped of all remnants of the former battle. Meanwhile a small formation of shuttles equipped with various types of Qi technologies took off from a secondary shuttle bay on the Dragonfly.

They quickly but silently accelerated into the distance, a heavy aura surrounding the formation like the dark clouds of an impending storm.